Simple TV Only App? (1 Viewer)

[Rufe0]

Hi

I've just installed MP for my Dad who is a bit of a technophobe. He's got a nice new TV tuner that doesn't come with any software to use it, they recommend using windows media center(mental). So anyway what he really needs is just a simple program that just does TV, TV guide, recording and thats it.

The whole GUI is very hard to navigate with a mouse and he is often caught in a loop going round in circles.

He likes to sit with the TV in the background and solitaire open, however in MP this seems to be too much to ask, when going back to fullscreen mode it screws up.

Then there is no way to adjust the volume. Overall we aren't impressed...

Is there something we are missing? Thanks for any help, Adam

 

[mm1352000]

Hello and welcome Adam

The whole GUI is very hard to navigate with a mouse and he is often caught in a loop going round in circles.

Is he using the default skin?

He likes to sit with the TV in the background and solitaire open, however in MP this seems to be too much to ask, when going back to fullscreen mode it screws up.

Could you explain what you mean by "screws up" in a little more detail?

Some things like this can be dependent on the PC.
For example, the version of Windows being used, the GPU (video card), the drivers...
Can you give details about these?

Then there is no way to adjust the volume. Overall we aren't impressed...

MP is designed to be used with a remote, but you can use a keyboard.
Use the +/= key to increase volume.
Use the _/- key to decrease volume.

This might help...
http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_...ediaPortal/01_Basics/03_Navigation/2_Keyboard



mm

 

[kiwijunglist]

Yes there is a simple tv only app

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/threads/further-development.115842/

Have not tried it myself

 

[msj33]

Yes there is a simple tv only app

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/threads/further-development.115842/

Have not tried it myself

This is "under development" and only offer TV-viewing right now - Further more it has some bugs, and rely on Mediaportal TV-server

Which TV-card is it? (analog/DVB-S/C or T or other). The Manufacturer probably offer some kind of free software from their website.

Mediaportal is not easy to navigate with a mouse - I would suggest to navigate with keybaord instead or get an remote.

If its an analog TV-tuner, I would recommend looking at ChrisTV - He offer a freeware version.

 

[Rufe0]

Thanks guys



Yeah I had a look at the keyboard settings and found the volume. Still why not have a speaker icon which adjusts volume when clicked in the top bar? My dads the point and click kind of person, keyboard shortcuts are a bit too much to learn. Also I couldn't see a shortcut for leaving fullscreen mode, I can get into it by the drop down menu but then how do you leave?



Started out with the Titan skin, now moved to the defaultwide skin which he does seem to be a little happier with now so maybe it’s not such a biggie. One thing that is very frustrating is navigating the TV Guide with a mouse.



He has a Blackgold BGT3620 http://shop.blackgold.tv/BGT3620 they offer no software for it only recommend windows media centre which he can't get without a OS install.

The machine has Windows XP with an ATI 4870, admittedly with some slightly older drivers but actually those older drivers offer more support than the newest ones eg OpenCL. I could try the newest ones but I doubt they will do anything. What happens is when going from windowed to fullscreen any programs/startmenu etc still open in the background will flicker through, also the mouse cursor is misaligned so you have to put the cursor 1cm below what you want to click on.

 

[mm1352000]

Hello again

Still why not have a speaker icon which adjusts volume when clicked in the top bar? My dads the point and click kind of person, keyboard shortcuts are a bit too much to learn.

As above: because MP is designed and optimised to be used with a remote and a large TV. It can be used on a regular desktop PC with mouse and keyboard (as I do), but this is not a primary design goal.

Also I couldn't see a shortcut for leaving fullscreen mode, I can get into it by the drop down menu but then how do you leave?

Alt+enter toggles windowed <--> FS modes.

Started out with the Titan skin, now moved to the defaultwide skin which he does seem to be a little happier with now so maybe it’s not such a biggie. One thing that is very frustrating is navigating the TV Guide with a mouse.

Some skins will be more mouse friendly than others. For example, the default skins are much more mouse friendly than Titan. But ultimately if he is intent on using a mouse then maybe other software may be a better fit. MP is not to everyone's taste.

The machine has Windows XP... What happens is when going from windowed to fullscreen any programs/startmenu etc still open in the background will flicker through, also the mouse cursor is misaligned so you have to put the cursor 1cm below what you want to click on.

Sounds like something else that is running is continually trying to steal focus from MP. Check what other applications are running, especially in the system tray.
You could also try to enable the "keep MediaPortal always on top" setting in the General->Startup/Resume section of MP configuration.

Note: I use XP myself and don't have any such trouble. Having said that, support is winding down so issues with XP and particular hardware/software setups can start to creep in. We don't have the resources to maintain support forever...